BHS 2021 alum Noah Weiskopf, a former Beachcomber sports editor, came to speak with the journalism class on Feb. 9.

Weiskopf is now sports editor at the Ohio State University Lantern, where he has been writing for three years while earning his journalism degree.

As sports editor, Weiskopf had the opportunity to cover the football team throughout the Buckeyes’ remarkable 14-2 season and National Championship win.

Weiskopf explained that relationships with players and coaches are critical in sports journalism. 

“That’s really what journalism is, getting to know coaches, players, support staff–all those kinds of people–because they can all give you information [and will] eventually trust you enough to give you something closer to home,” he said.

Junior Dalilah Harrison, a student in journalism class, appreciated what she learned about being a sports editor. 

“When he was talking to us about his journey throughout this year, it was very inspiring, and the fact that he’s also from Beachwood is very cool as well,” she said.

In addition to his many stories published in the Lantern, Weiskopf has had multiple stories published by the Associated Press and Cleveland.com.

One of his recent stories, “Behind Closed Doors: The Meeting That Transformed Ohio State Into National Champions” published on Feb. 5, tells the story of an emotional team meeting held the Monday after the Buckeyes’ humiliating loss to Michigan, a meeting that helped the team get over the loss and move forward.

Weiskopf described his process in writing this story that captures both the lowest point in the Buckeyes’ season as well as the emotional turning point that eventually led them to win the national championship game against Notre Dame.

“Just covering [the meeting] was something that I knew would be a great story, but it would only be great if they won [the championship],” he said.

Weiskopf spent about two weeks talking to players who attended the meeting in order to get accurate details about the meeting.

“Leading up to the game I sat down with about eight to ten players and just talked to them about what their experience was… what they recalled… who was doing what… who was emotional… those kinds of things,” he said. “After [learning those details], I knew that this would be something I was going to write.”

Journalism teacher Josh Davis feels that Weiskopf is a good role model for his students.

“It was good for them to hear about the process of reporting, how he talked to multiple players as a way of verifying the information,” Davis said.

Davis is impressed not only by Weiskopf’s reporting, but by the strength of his writing voice as well.

“In some of the articles he’s published recently, there’s a real depth and a real music to the writing,” Davis said.

Weiskopf also discussed another recent story he wrote for the Lantern, an interview with Buckeyes freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, published on Jan. 18, just before the National Championship game.

“I built a pretty good relationship with Jeremiah Smith and I wanted to try something new,” Weiskopf said.

Smith was approaching one of the biggest games of his life, and Weiskopf was determined to fully capture his emotions leading up to the big day.

“I sat down with him for about ten minutes and just talked to him and got a feel for what he was going through and what his feelings were heading into this game,” Weiskopf said. “I did a Q and A format story, so someone who wants to know what Jeremiah Smith is thinking two days before a national championship game, they have every quote here instead of reading a story that I narrated and then threw his quotes in to support things.”

When talking about both of reporting these stories, Weiskopf emphasized the importance of finding new and unique angles, a message that resonated with some of the students. 

“The main skill I learned from him was the importance of being creative and not going for a basic approach,” Harrison said. “Try your best to get yourself out there and don’t be afraid to just go for it. And if it even makes you uncomfortable, remember you’re working for the [readers] and they deserve every perspective.”